Chapter 146: Unknown Flora

They moved on from the Crystal Shell Crawler’s territory, drifting deeper into the pale stone ridges. The terrain grew stranger with every pulse. The rocks here weren’t just jagged, they were twisted, spiraling formations that rose from the seafloor like frozen whirlpools of stone. The glowing moss was thicker here, painting the ridges in soft veins of green and pale gold.

Then they found the vines.

They hung from the ceiling of a shallow ravine, draped between the stone spires like curtains of living rope. Each vine was thick as Gray’s tentacle, its surface covered in tiny, overlapping scales that shimmered with a faint, iridescent sheen. Small, bulbous growths pulsed along their length, glowing with a soft, sickly yellow light.

Gray slowed, his blade-tentacles spreading wide.

’What are those?’

Cindy drifted closer, her frills splaying as she read the mana currents around the vines. Her expression shifted from curiosity to unease.

"I don’t know," she admitted. "I’ve never seen anything like them. The mana around them is... wrong. It’s not flowing. It’s stagnant. Like the vines are holding it in place."

The system flickered, the text glitching as it tried to analyze the growths.

[UNKNOWN FLORA — IDENTIFICATION FAILED]

« Analysis »

Unable to identify. The vines possess a mana signature that does not match any known species in the current database. Caution is advised.

’It can’t identify them,’ Gray said. ’That’s never a good sign.’

"Should we destroy them?" Cindy asked.

’No,’ Gray said. ’We leave them alone, I don’t want to find out what they do the hard way.’

Cindy nodded, her frills relaxing slightly.

"Agreed. Let’s go around."

They circled wide, giving the vines a berth of nearly twenty meters. The sickly yellow light faded behind them as they moved on, swallowed by the dark.

The next discovery was different.

The ravine opened into a wide, shallow basin, its floor covered in a carpet of soft, glowing moss. At the center of the basin, rising from a crack in the seafloor, was a plant.

It was beautiful. Its stem was slender and spiraled, rising nearly six feet before branching into a crown of translucent leaves that shimmered with every color of the spectrum. At the top of the crown, a single flower bloomed, its petals glowing with a soft, steady light that pulsed in rhythm with the mana currents around it.

Cindy’s frills flared wide.

"Gray, that’s... that’s a Noblesse Bloom. I’ve read about them. They’re incredibly rare."

[[NOBLESSE BLOOM — RARE FLORA]

« Analysis »

A rare deep-sea plant that absorbs ambient mana and condenses it into a pure, concentrated nectar known as Noblesse Nectar. Consuming the nectar permanently expands the consumer’s mana pool. The Noblesse Bloom is highly sought after by mages and magical creatures alike.

’What does it do?’

"It expands your mana pool," Cindy said, her voice hushed with awe. "Permanently. If I consume that nectar, my mana capacity could increase significantly. Maybe enough to push me closer to Fifth Circle."

Gray studied the flower, then his senses swept the basin.

’Wait,’ he said. ’There’s something else here.’

He felt it before he saw it. A vibration, deep and rhythmic, moving through the water with slow, predatory patience. Something was circling the basin, staying just outside his electroreception range.

Then it emerged from the dark.

It was a shark. But not like any shark Gray had ever seen. Its body was sleek and muscular, easily twelve feet from snout to tail, its hide a deep, iridescent blue-green that shimmered with the same spectral colors as the Noblesse Bloom’s leaves. Rows of serrated teeth lined its jaws, and its eyes were cold, pale, and utterly without mercy.

But the most striking thing was the crystal.

A massive, jagged crystal jutted from its forehead, pulsing with the same soft, multicolored light as the Noblesse Bloom. It was clearly connected to the plant, a living conduit between the shark and the flower.

[NOBLESSE BLOOM GUARDIAN — Level 44]

HP: 3600 / 3600

MP: 800 / 800

Threat Level: EXTREME

« Analysis »

A rare and highly evolved predator that has formed a symbiotic bond with a Noblesse Bloom. The Guardian draws power from the Noblesse Nectar, growing stronger and more aggressive over time. It will defend the Bloom with its life.

Behavior: Highly territorial. The Guardian will attack anything that approaches the Noblesse Bloom. It prioritizes threats based on mana output, targeting the strongest source first.

Weakness: The crystal on its forehead is the conduit for its symbiotic link. Damaging or destroying the crystal disrupts the link, weakening the Guardian and causing it to lose access to the Bloom’s mana.

Cindy’s voice was tense.

"It’s connected to the flower. As long as that crystal is intact, it can draw on the Bloom’s mana. That’s why it’s so strong."

’Then we take out the crystal first.’

The Noblesse Bloom Guardian circled the basin, its cold eyes tracking Gray and Cindy. Its crystal pulsed brighter, drawing mana from the Bloom, its body swelling with power.

Then it turned toward Cindy.

’It’s targeting you,’ Gray said. ’You’re the stronger mana source.’

"I know," Cindy said, her voice steady despite the tension. "I’ll keep it busy. You flank it and hit the crystal."

’That’s risky. If it catches you—’

"It won’t."

Gray stared at her for a moment, then nodded.

’Go.’

Cindy shot forward, her silver glow flaring bright as she drew the Guardian’s attention. The shark lunged, its jaws gaping wide, and Cindy dissolved into a vortex of water, reforming ten meters to the left.

The Guardian twisted, its massive body coiling through the water. Its crystal pulsed, and a beam of concentrated mana shot from its forehead, aimed directly at her.

Cindy raised her hands.

"[Ice Wall]!"

The barrier erupted between them, and the beam shattered against it, spraying ice and steam in every direction. Cindy staggered, her mana dipping, but she held her ground.

Gray activated Phantom Cloak and vanished, circling wide around the basin. The Guardian’s attention was locked on Cindy, its crystal pulsing as it prepared another beam.

Gray positioned himself directly above the Guardian’s head. He could see the crystal clearly now, a jagged spire of pure mana, pulsing with the Bloom’s light.

’That’s the weak point.’